Nest Labs

What happens when the brains of Apple tackle the thermostat in your hallway?  You get something like Nest Labs.  Founded by ex-Apple executives who led iPod and iPhone development (New York Times, October 25, 2011 - Ex-Apple Leaders Push the Humble Thermostat Into the Digital Age by Steve Lohr).  This is the first "learning" thermostat for the iPhone generation.  Consider the points in the article:

• The thermostat will run $249 and shipments will begin this month.
• Style and ease of use (which describes every Apple product) are key elements in the design.
• Technology - - such as motion-tracking sensors that detect whether people are present and adjust room temperatures accordingly.
• Do people buy a thermostat because is is cool looking?  Cool looking and three times the cost of the one I just installed in my bedroom.  Since VC Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Intertrust, Shasta Ventures, and Generation Investment Management are all backing Nest - - smart people are thinking yes.
• Homes like mine account for more than 10% of the total energy consumption in the United States - - with about half of the 10% going into heating and cooling.
• Each degree cooler a house is kept in a heating season, or warmer in a cooling season - - translates to a 5% energy savings.  So shifting consumption patterns by four degrees can potentially mean a savings of 20%.  Which means, an annual savings of $200 to $300 per year and fewer new power plants.
• The argument is that "smart" thermostats pay for themselves and "smarter" thermostats pay for themselves even quicker.  If a person is out of town each Monday on business, the Nest sensors detect that and switch to an "auto away" setting for lower energy use.  Nest has a sizable team of specialists in the branch of artificial intelligence can machine learning, including Yoky Matsuoka, who came from Google and whose work won a MacArthur Foundation award.
• An estimated 10 million thermostats a year are sold as replacements and in remodeling.